


Remnants of a Nightmare

by InterstellarVagabond



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, vague enough that you can decide whatever ships you want should you want them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:21:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23095522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterstellarVagabond/pseuds/InterstellarVagabond
Summary: It had been like this for three nights now. He tried to sleep and if he got that far he woke up from the nightmares. Normally, he didn't get that far, because whenever he felt himself drifting off his brain would snap into a fuzzy memory of laying on his back and staring up at a room full of doctors and scientists all going fuzzy.Hajime has trouble sleeping after his release from the Neo World Program, and soon finds that he is not the only one.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 123





	Remnants of a Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> I was up all night with panic attacks and eventually just started writing this to try and project and calm myself down
> 
> heavily inspired by MystxMomo's The Heart Grows Fonder which you should all go read, it reminded me of how much I love reading/writing stories about the "survivors" first waking up and coming to terms with their new reality.

Hajime rolled over in bed and sighed. He did this a few more times before the sighing turned into frustrated growling, which soon became a choked sound halfway between a frustrated growl and a sob.

Definitely not a sob though, if he started crying now he'd be up all night.

It was starting to look like he'd be up all night anyway though, so he left his bed. He swore as he stubbed his toe on something in the dark and then found his way to the door. 

The hallways in the building Makoto and Co had been keeping them in had constant emergency lights running along the bottom of the wall, illuminating the dark with a faint blue, so it was easier to navigate once he'd left his room.

It had been like this for three nights now. He tried to sleep and if he got that far he woke up from the nightmares. Normally, he didn't get that far, because whenever he felt himself drifting off his brain would snap into a fuzzy memory of laying on his back and staring up at a room full of doctors and scientists all going fuzzy.

It always made his breath hitch which made him panic and hyperventilate, and all that made him shake like a chihuahua after a cappuccino.

He was so tired that at this point the panic was battling the sleep deprived teary frustration for dominance over his mind.

He made his way to the kitchen, flipping on the light as he entered, intending to kill time drinking some tea or pacing or something to make him calm down.

Instead he found himself staring down a startled Kazuichi, who had apparently just been sitting in the dark.

They stared at each other for awhile before speaking.

"Couldn't sle-?"

"Just needed to-"

They both sighed and chuckled at cutting each other off.

"Everytime I close my eyes, dude," Kazuichi sighed. "It's like I'm back there."

Hajime studied him. He didn't look too different from his he had in the program give a few years older, a bit more muscled, and his hair was grown out longer revealing brown roots. It was a strange feeling looking at someone you'd spent weeks with and feel like they were a stranger.

Like he was one to talk. He still hadn't cut his hair. It was the only thing that distracted from the eyes, and it was too much work.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Haven't been able to sleep right in days."

"Doesn't that shit give you hallucinations or something?" Kazuichi asked nervously. "Cause I don't want them thinking we've gone crazy...ier."

"I've seen how they look at us. Makoto is half scared half proud, Kyoko treats us like a mystery, and Byakuya is gonna blow a blood vessel from scoffing." Hajime folded his arms over his chest. "It wouldn't even take that much to spook them about our state of mind."

"You're making me feel loads better," Kazuichi drawled sarcastically.

Just then the door opened again, and Fuyuhiko did a double take at the two other people in the room.

"Jesus, shit! Gave me a heart attack! What are you two doing here?"

"What are  _ you _ doing here?" Hajime asked back.

"... just needed some water," Fuyuhiko lied obviously.

"Yeah, we couldn't sleep either," Kazuichi said.

"Tch." Fuyuhiko leaned against the counter and shook his head. "If I have one more night like this I'm gonna…" he trailed off. "Fuck, I dunno. It won't be anything healthy. Can't even think straight right now."

"Hey, do you think the girls are awake too?" Kazuichi asked. 

"Don't you mean, 'do you think  _ Sonia's _ awake?"

"No, dude, it's not like that," Kazuichi said, and when they both stared at him doubtfully his tone got more betrayed. "Seriously! I'm not gonna try and make a move on her while she's grieving Gundham and remembering all the shit we did. I'm just thinking… if we can't sleep then…"

Hajime nodded. "We should go check on them."

"Yeah," Fuyuhiko agreed.

They all made their way back up to the rooms, trying not to think of how many were empty, their potential occupants still sleeping five floors down in pods that looked like they came from a science fiction movie.

Nobody answered when they knocked on Sonia's door, but they found out why when they got to Akane's.

"Hey, Akane?" Hajime knocked gently on the door. Seconds later it opened, and Akane was standing there looking just as frazzled as the rest of them. The lights were on and Hajime could see Sonia sitting on the edge of the bed wiping at her eyes.

"What's up?" Akane stepped into his line of sight protectively, blocking Sonia from view.

"None of us can sleep," Fuyuhiko said.

"We were thinking maybe we could all not sleep together," Hajime added.

Akane's face softened and she nodded. "You know, I think I saw a big empty conference room a floor down. There'd be room for all of us and all our blankets and pillows."

"Then we'll start gathering stuff up!" Kazuichi said, sounding determined and maybe even optimistic.

They ended up taking the pillows and blankets from some of the others rooms as well. They weren't being used and the more they had to work with the better the blanket nest became.

Sonia actually beamed when Hajime started draping blankets over chairs and tables to turn it into a fort.

"I was never allowed to do such things," she said. "I would see these on TV and be so jealous. I must admit I did not think these would be the circumstances of the first time I built one…"

"Well,  _ I'm _ building," Hajime corrected her. "So, it's not really your first time making a blanket fort. You can save that for later."

Her faint smile grew at that.

"We did a snack run!" Akane announced, entering the room with Kazuichi, both of them carrying armfuls of snacks and sodas.

"Did you get those from the vending machines?" Fuyuhiko asked suspiciously.

"Yeah," Kazuichi said, looking a bit sheepish.

"The ones that haven't been touched in years?" Fuyuhiko pressed. "The ones collecting dust and expiration dates?"

"Aw, c'mon, it's fine." Akane crawled into the fort next to him and dropped her pile at their feet.

"How did you even get in there? Did you hotwire it?"

"I wanted to smash the glass," Akane chuckled. "But yeah, he popped the control panel off and BOOM! Free snacks."

"Pfft." Fuyuhiko tried not to look as amused as he was.

They all gathered together under Hajime's blanket roof, finding out which snacks were safe and daring each other to eat the ones that weren't. They didn't intend to, or at least they never said they should out loud, but everyone started slowly moving closer and closer together until it was one big pile of people all cuddled together.

"Your hair is pissing me off," Fuyuhiko complained. He was leaning back against Hajime's chest and smacking locks of long dark hair out of his face.

"Sit somewhere else then," Hajime replied, unconcerned.

"Oh, wait!" Kazuichi sat up straighter and made Hajime turn so he could better reach his hair. It took awhile but eventually he'd made a neat braid of it.

"Oh damn, do me next!" Akane said.

"I want one as well!" Sonia grinned.

"Guys, be sensitive," Hajime scolded them, before rubbing his hand over Fuyuhiko's close cropped hair. "Not all of us can enjoy Kazuichi braids."

"Fuck you!" Fuyuhiko laughed, slapping his hand away.

"You know, this is my first sleepover," Akane said as Kazuichi started working on her hair.

"Oh, mine too," Hajime said.

"It is mine as well."

"Dude… if I say anything it's gonna get depressing…"

"Wait, have none of us ever had sleepovers before?" Hajime asked.

"Princess, broken home, broken home, yakuza," Fuyuhiko listed out, pointing at everyone.

"What about you, Hajime?" Kazuichi asked curiously.

"Ah… broken home, I guess," Hajime said with a shrug. "My parents wanted me to succeed, they didn't like distractions."

"That's why they stuck you in the reserve course, huh?" Akane asked.

"Yeah. They thought I could make something of myself if I had  _ the right environment _ ." Hajime shook his head. "I… don't remember a whole lot of… the other guy's memories, but I know they never looked for me. I… just know."

The room grew quiet as everyone remembered why they were here, remembered the dark shadow waiting for them outside their protective blanket fort.

"You know, I actually kinda miss Nagito," Kazuichi said, breaking the silence.

"What? Why?" Fuyuhiko pulled a face.

"I mean… he's a little weird, but he was kinda good at getting things facing the right direction." Kazuichi shrugged. "You know back in the day, anytime one of us had a motivational speech he had practically written it for us. It was like he was always trying to find a way to cheer people up without taking credit."

"It was kinda manipulative though," Akane said. 

"I never said it was perfect," Kazuichi said. "Just… I dunno. I feel like he's the closest we could get to Chiaki or Ms. Yukizome, and I think maybe his second chance might make him a better dude."

"That's if he gets a second chance," Fuyuhiko said quietly, staring at the floor.

"Peko's brain activity is strong, if anyone's going to wake up it's her," Hajime reassured him.

"You keep staying stuff that's way too smart for you to know," Fuyuhiko said.

"Yes, I was wondering too…" Sonia gently pushed aside the remaining hair in Hajime's face, and he immediately averted his gaze. "... is he still with you?"

"... sort of?" Hajime shrugged. "I mean… there are some fuzzy memories, there's some stuff I can do that I couldn't before, sometimes I hear this voice in the back of my head… kind of a dick. Then sometimes…" he frowned. "I get so bored. It's like all the light in the world goes out, but agonizingly slow. I can't move or try to keep myself busy, all I can do is lie there and feel myself slipping into darkness because… what's the point?"

He noticed everyone staring at him with concern and he got nervous. "I brought down the mood again, didn't I?"

"The mood has been down," Akane said. "That's why we're here, remember?"

"We are companions in the recovery from despair," Sonia agreed.

"Everyone here is a basket case," Fuyuhiko said. "Kazuichi is right, Nagito's gonna be fine. We're all the redeemed unforgivable, and we're all nervous wrecks."

"It is not about being forgiven," Sonia said. "Right, Hajime?"

"Yeah. It's just about seeing the next day. Just for us, just that one small step."

"I never told you, I really liked that," Fuyuhiko said. "The whole future speech. I mean it was corny, but sometimes when getting out of bed feels impossible…"

"Just live one more day," Kazuichi piped up. "Just keep going towards the future."

"Don't get swallowed up by the past or lost in today or who did what to who," Akane said. "Just keep going."

"We will do all we can, and we will do it for us and our friends," Sonia said.

Hajime smiled despite himself. And they called him corny.

The sound of rain tapping against the windows filled the room as the conversation started to die down. Kazuichi turned off the lights and they all lay down together, once again entwined with and laying on top of one another. 

It didn't feel strange to be so close to each other, in fact it was starting to feel strange to be apart. They were their own world now, they were something no one else could ever understand.

Fuyuhiko was the first to fall asleep and the first to wake up gasping for air.

Hajime wrapped an arm around him and pressed their foreheads together while Akane rubbed circles on his back. Fuyuhiko clung to Hajime's shoulder until he was able to nod his gratitude and try again.

They went through the night like that until everyone was finally resting peacefully. Enough times of waking up to immediate comfort reassuring their minds that they were safe enough to rest for a moment.

Their trio of caretakers was a little surprised to find them in the morning, passed out well into the afternoon in a blanket fort that looked like it had been built by an ultimate architect, all of them tangled together.

Makoto was happy about it though, proud of the display of empathy, glad to see they could all still form bonds with each other, or repair the old ones that had fallen into strangeness alongside despair.

Hajime and the others were just happy to finally get a good night's sleep.


End file.
